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Whether it’s blockchain, cryptocurrencies, or NFTs, we ensure you always know what’s happening in the crypto space. Our mission is to highlight all the most talked-about cryptocurrency news every week, ensuring you don’t miss out on any important information. From companies taking over the NFT space, to crypto adoption, and your favorite exchanges. Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency news can be found on Bitcoin Chaser.
Let’s take a look at all the cryptocurrency news over the last week, recapped and compiled in an easy-to-digest format, listed below:
Iran to pilot ‘National Cryptocurrency’
We have seen countries like El Salvador accept Bitcoin as legal tender, and countries trying to create their own national cryptocurrency, and now Iran plans to do the same.
The monetary authority of Iran is planning to release as its digital currency project, confirmed an official source. Their plans to launch a central bank digital currency have been discussed since 2018, but are finally making moves to combat their economic inconsistencies.
They are eager to implement blockchain technology throughout their country, and this national cryptocurrency could be the start of something great for Iran and its citizens.
Read more on Bitcoin.com.
Reddit tests allowing users to set any NFT as their profile picture
As already stated, many social media platforms are embracing NFTs, alongside Twitter and Facebook, as well as YouTube, we know have Reddit showing interest too.
Just like Twitter, Reddit is looking at testing a feature that allows its users to set NFTs as their profile picture. This includes but is not limited to its own NFTs, called “CryptoSnoos”. Right now they are in the phase of internal testing, and no decisions or confirmations have been made yet.
This is an interesting bit of news, as Reddit has already trialed the NFT space with their Snoo NFTs, so anything extra would just be a bonus at this point.
Read more on TechCrunch.
Google Cloud is hiring a legion of blockchain experts
Google has always tried to stay above the curve, ensuring they beat out their competitors before the issue even arises and this move is proof of that yet again.
Google is hoping to expand its services to retail, health care, and other industries. Google’s cloud division is forming a group to build a business around blockchain applications and hire a vast selection of people with blockchain expertise to assist them.
They are hoping, that if done right, their venture will drive decentralization. This is big news, and something Google and its users could greatly benefit from.
Read more on CNBC.
Lamborghini releases its first NFT
It was massive news when Tesla accepted Bitcoin, and then later on Dogecoin, but Lamborghini has stepped up to the plate to release their own NFTs.
They have announced that they will be auctioning off a series of NFTs that were produced in collab with Swiss artist Fabian Oefner. The images show a Lamborghini breaking down to its core components as it bursts through the darkness of space.
The company announced each auction will last 75 hours and 50 minutes, the same amount of time it took Apollo 11 to leave Earth’s surface and enter the moon’s orbit. Very cool.
Read more on The Verge.
YouTube is considering NFTs
We have seen lots of social media platforms adopting NFTs lately, such as Twitter and Facebook, and now YouTube joins the list.
The CEO of YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, announced that they are looking into new ways to help their creators capitalize on their success, such as features like non-fungible tokens. Youtube is ready to embrace the innovations taking place in the web3 era.
No details have been confirmed yet, nor has a timeline, but even mentioning the potential of NFTs is a step forward and shows mainstream adoption is here.
Read more on TechCrunch.
LeBron James Foundation joins Crypto.com
Athletes have been eagerly adopting Blockchain technology more recently, and Crypto.com has been taking advantage of that, even renaming the iconic Staple Center.
Now LeBron James, famed basketball player, has announced his partnership with Crypto.com. The partnership sees the crypto exchange collaborating with the LeBron James Family Foundation to add Web3 education to the foundation’s programs.
LeBron hopes this partnership with Crypto.com will help educate and support the less privileged communities with the information and tools they need for inclusion in the future.
Read more on YahooSports.
Stay Up To Date
Staying up to date on cryptocurrency news doesn’t have to be a hassle. We at Bitcoin Chaser are passionate about all things blockchain and crypto, we want to help empower and motivate our readers to learn and understand more. We publish our weekly news roundup every week, highlighting exceptional news and where to read more. Why not sign up for our newsletter so you can always stay updated on bitcoin, Blockchain, and everything cryptocurrency with Bitcoin Chaser.


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On Wednesday, July 28, Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced the creation of a Cannabis Business Office to promote social equity, provide financial and technical assistance to entrepreneurs, and create jobs in the state’s $2.2 billion marijuana industry.
Thanks to the passing of Senate Bill 111 that passed during the Legislature’s 2021 session, the office was authorized and received an initial $4 million from the state’s marijuana cash tax fund for its operation. The Cannabis Office aims to provide micro-loans and grants for seed money, capital, and business expenses, in addition to planning advice and other support for business owners, especially in more disadvantaged areas.
Now, business owners who were selling smoking accessories can have assistance selling cannabis, thanks to The Cannabis Business Office. It’ll assist business owners, especially those of color, whose past marijuana charges or convictions barred their entry into the industry. Gov. Polis said in a statement that, “The Cannabis Business Office shows our administration’s focus on growing this thriving industry that supports jobs and our economy.” He continued, saying, “Where the federal government has fallen behind, Colorado will lead. Colorado is and always has been, the best place to live, work, grow and sell cannabis.”
This is a massive move in terms of marijuana reform, by creating legislation, that helps people thrive in the cannabis industry instead of the opposite. The Cannabis Office is another clear-cut example of why federal marijuana legalization is needed throughout the United States, so everyone can reap the lucrative benefits of the cannabis industry. This is a great way to promote social equity.

domain: news


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A virtual food festival was held on Easter Monday and proved an instant success.
The Virtual Food Festival was the brainchild of Ross Geach of Padstow Kitchen Gardens who struck upon the idea in the wake of all the food festival cancellations, to bring the festival atmosphere into peoples’ homes, while at the same time showcasing local suppliers.
He contacted Jack Stein, chef director at Rick Stein, and the event was held yesterday (Easter Monday) featuring a galaxy of local cheffing talent including the likes of Rick Stein, Angela Hartnett and Mitch Tonks, giving live online demonstrations.
Jack Stein said: “When Ross came to me and suggested this concept it just made so much sense. It’s a simple idea – whilst our restaurants are closed and we’re not able to buy from our brilliant suppliers, we help to showcase their great produce so customers can order directly from them.”
Geach also approached local web company, Solve Web Media, to set up a website, which director Lawrence Harmer was able to do in double quick time. Within 24 hours of going live, the site had received more than 3000 hits.
“It was another example of how in these crazy times, an idea can be turned in to reality quickly to help support the community,” he said. “We can make small changes or create entire systems quickly to make these dreams come true.”


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MTN Nigeria is engaging with local banks to discuss pricing models after it was blocked from selling products and airtime last week after it attempted to reduce commission on transactions.
The operator’s action resulted in most of Nigeria’s banks blocking sales of its products, and services were only restored after the government intervened, with MTN promising to reinstate the previously agreed rate of commission until a new agreement is negotiated.
MTN Nigeria issued a statement saying it opened consultations with banks on 6th April in a bid to “align on longer term pricing structures” that adhered to “international standard and best practice”, and expressed optimism about reaching a swift agreement with the banks.
The operator added that it was scaling up its sales and distribution network via new partnerships with fintech companies including JumiaPay, KongaPay and Sparkle.
MTN Nigeria’s commission dispute may be part of a wider conflict first reported by Bloomberg in March, in which several members of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria threatened to block banks from accessing their payment services.
The operators alleged that the banks owed them NGN42 billion ($110.3 million) from end-user billing, prompting Nigeria’s regulatory authorities to set a fixed commission rate and demand liability resolution.


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COLUMBUS, OH, July 16, 2020 – Requirements for consumers to wear masks at public places like retail stores and restaurants are very similar to smoking bans, according to three university experts.
In a paper published today (July 16, 2020) in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the professors say mask requirements to stop the spread of COVID-19 should be considered “fundamental occupational health protections” for workers at stores, restaurants and other public places.
“Both tobacco smoke and COVID-19 are air-based health hazards to workers who may be exposed to them for hours on end,” said Michael Vuolo, co-author of the paper and associate professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.
“Requiring that members of the public wear masks is a form of workplace protection.”
Vuolo, who researches the effectiveness of smoking bans, wrote the article with Brian Kelly, a professor of sociology at Purdue University who is an expert on health policy, and Vincent Roscigno, a professor of sociology at Ohio State who is an expert on labor and worker rights.
The main argument typically made against a mask requirement, as was the case with smoking bans, is that it violates the individual liberties of Americans.
“But even the strictest individual liberty philosophies still recognize that those liberties only go to the point of harm against others,” Vuolo said.
“It is clear that COVID-19 is a threat to workers who may be exposed to it and mask wearing can help minimize that threat.”
The issue is also one of inequality, because many of the workers in service and retail industries are people who earn lower wages and are racial and ethnic minorities.
Mask requirements may be a key means to reduce the already evident inequalities in who gets COVID-19, the researchers said.
The risks of contracting COVID-19 for workers are, in some ways, even more insidious than those related to smoking, Vuolo noted.
“The risk from smokers is clear. But workers don’t know who may have COVID-19 and who doesn’t. That makes mask requirements for everyone even more important,” he said.
Many business owners enforce smoking bans even when not required by law for a very good reason, according to Vuolo.
“Research has shown that workplace productivity is higher in workplaces that are seen as healthy and safe.”
Vuolo said it is important to remember how controversial smoking bans were when they were first implemented. Now, they are hardly mentioned.
“No one is out there policing smoking for the most part. Health authorities could if they had to, but it is usually not necessary,” he said.
“The way we got people to stop smoking in public was simply to make it abnormal. We could do a similar thing by making it abnormal not to wear a mask,” he said.
If mask-wearing is required, it could become as normalized here in the United States as it is in east Asia. At some point, people may even consider wearing masks during normal flu seasons, Vuolo said.
But until that time, we need legal requirements to protect workers, according to the authors.
“Wearing a mask may seem like a nuisance, just like having to step outside to smoke may seem like a nuisance,” Vuolo said.
“But both are a small inconvenience when compared to workers’ rights to a safe work environment.”


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Charter Hall Retail REIT has notched up a small gain in its interim operating earnings for 2018 during a busy period as it reworks the composition of its portfolio.
The property trust, one of a stable of listed and unlisted funds managed by Charter Hall, recorded operating earnings of $61.9 million, or 15.30¢ a unit, up just 0.6 per cent.
The trust's statutory profit was $80.8 million for the first half, well down on the $178.9 million it recorded in the previous corresponding period. The earlier result had been boosted by gains booked on investment property and financial derivatives.
Now led by Greg Chubb, the retail trust has been very active reshaping its portfolio toward a focus on convenience-based malls.
The trust divested divested 11 lower growth properties for $229.8 million at an average yield of 6.9 per cent
It has also begun $70 million of redevelopment works at its malls in Lake Macquarie, NSW and Wanneroo in Western Australia.
"To balance that activity and to have some earnings growth is a really pleasing outcome," Mr Chubb told The Australian Financial Review.
"What we're more focused on is what it means for the portfolio in the second half of the year and leading into financial year 2019, having set the portfolio up for continued growth."
Sales growth overall in the portfolio was 2.9 per cent. Six months earlier it was 1.8 per cent.
Like-for-like net property income growth was 1.3 per cent, while six months earlier it was 1 per cent.
The Charter Hall-run fund now has a $2.9 billion portfolio of 66 convenience-based supermarket-anchored shopping centres.
Wesfarmers and Woolworths businesses account for almost half of its rental income. Convenience-based non-discretionary retailers generate 93 per cent of its income overall.
Among its supermarkets, 51 per cent of tenants are paying turnover rent. Another 19 per cent within 10 per cent of their turnover thresholds.
"We're seeing continued sales growth which gives us the confidence that the percentage of stores in turnover should increase," Mr Chubb said.
The Charter Hall retail fund paid 14¢ in distributions in the first half. In the 2017 first half it paid 14.1¢.
It has tightened its earnings guidance for the full year to be between 30.4¢ and 30.6¢ a unit. The stock closed down 2¢ at $3.66.
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The Vero Beach, Fla.-based United Indian River plans to sell 2,900 acres of groves and a packinghouse in an auction scheduled for April 16.
The family owners are shifting their focus on other businesses, including a marina, Thomas Kennedy, vice president of Kennedy Holdings LLC, United’s parent company, said in a news release.
“The Kennedy Family, owners of Kennedy Groves Inc., … that has been growing Florida’s Indian River Citrus since 1909, has made the decision to divest the company of their citrus holdings in order to concentrate on the family’s other businesses,” Kennedy said in the release. “With the upcoming retirement of my father, Ken, and the nature of our business, which is very hands-on and management-intensive, the family has decided to divest ourselves of the citrus business.”
“We are adjusting here as well but we hate to see a family with over 100 years experience and a history like theirs leave the business,” said Doug Bournique, the league’s executive vice president. “It breaks your heart.”
From 2010 to 2012, United annually packed more than 1 million cartons of mostly grapefruit.
In 2013, production declined to 796,000 cartons, according to the Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Administrative Committee.
For the past two decades, United marketed fruit through DNE World Fruit Sales in Fort Pierce, Fla., but in 2013 changed to Vero Beach-based IMG Citrus Inc.
Properties for sale include groves that range from 63 to 414 acres in 9 tracts and a the 55,000-square foot packinghouse.
In 1991, the Kennedys sold their retail and mail-order citrus businesses to Hale Groves, operating under the United name, according to the release.


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Although this announcement is not a complete surprise, it is disappointing. Over the last 18-months, GGP had appeared to be embracing mixed use, evidenced by the hiring of Tom D’Alesandro and a prominent presence at the Mixed Use Conference in November. This announcement of mall expansion is, in my opinion, a step backward.
The details of the announcement were well reported by Tyrone Richardson in an article that appeared in the Sunday, January 7, 2007 edition of the Baltimore Sun.
The Mall in Columbia needs to expand again as plans to redevelop Town Center move forward, according to Douglas M. Godine, vice president and general manager of General Growth Properties Inc., the primary landowner and developer of the city.
"The demand is much greater than the supply, and we want to protect our interests here in Columbia and keep those retailers that may be looking elsewhere and who want to come to Columbia. But we don't have the space for them," Godine said.
"We are addressing how we can expand the mall to add retail shops, and that will take a long period of time, but we are confident that we will get there," he said.
A spokesman for General Growth said the mall has 1.4 million square feet of retail space. Its last expansion was in 2004, when a movie theater, a row of restaurants and an L.L. Bean store were added.
Godine declined to give details of the expansion plans, but he said they will be included in the GGP downtown Columbia plan, which is expected to be unveiled in April.
The project is to include "green" architecture, affordable housing and arts and culture, Godine said during Thursday's annual State of Columbia Luncheon, sponsored by the Columbia Business Exchange.
"Our plan will address some of the important issues that will affect the way people live here," Godine told the audience of about 100 business owners and policymakers.
I also have to question why this article appeared on Sunday. This luncheon was on Thursday morning. I cannot believe that it took three days to get the story in print. What has happened to timely reporting?
Lastly, as we all know, the mall has been expanded a few times. Back in 1978, the first time mall expansion was discussed, HRD officials openly talked about the need to construct a flyover at the Governor Warfield Parkway/Little Patuxent Parkway intersection. Here are a few quotes from the June 15, 1972 edition of the Columbia Flier (page 12). The article was written by Tom Graham:
County officials are planning interim measures to reduce traffic congestion at an intersection in downtown Columbia because the new town’s developer has postponed a million-dollar permanent solution to the problem.
Three years ago, a Howard Research and Development Corp (HRD) official informed local agencies that the developer’s 1973 promise to improve the intersection by late 1976 would be delayed. HRD said the project, an elevated ramp to connect Governor Warfield Parkway and Little Patuxent Parkway near the Mall, would be “deferred until 1978 or later…if development” in downtown Columbia “is delayed.”
Since that time, HRD vice president Douglas A McGregor said this week, plans for new buildings downtown have not been realized, and “we just don’t think it’s necessary to do it today.”
“We acknowledge the responsibility to construct that flyover,” McGregor said, but “it ought to be tied to the opening of the Mall expansion” or some other major building project that wil generate additional traffic in the area.
So thirty years ago, we had a Douglas acknowledge responsibility for building a flyover at GWP/LPP, hopefully the Douglas in charge of development today can follow through.


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Millions of Australians are expected to rack up a credit card debt that could take months to pay off this Christmas, according to new research.
The latest data from Finder has revealed more than one-fifth of Aussies will rely on some form of credit to fund the festive period.
The survey of 1,056 respondents found 21 per cent are turning to credit this holiday season, which is equivalent to 4.2 million people.
More than 1 in 10 are planning to primarily use a credit card to splurge on Christmas while 7 per cent are using buy-now-pay-later services.
A worrying three per cent said they would take out a personal loan.
Holiday spending is set to eclipse $30 billion this Christmas with the average Australian expected to spend $1479 on presents, food, alcohol, eating out and travel.
Personal finance expert at Finder, Sarah Megginson, warned shoppers to keep an eye on their spending to avoid accumulating a debt that they are unable to keep up with.
"The financial pressure of Christmas has many people spending over their limits, but getting into the festive spirit shouldn't mean getting in over your head," Megginson said.
"If you don't get on top of your repayments, you could end up with a debt hangover that goes well past Christmas and into the new year."
The best Christmas light displays across Australia
Splurging during Christmas time can also hurt credit scores, said Megginson.
"If you rack up a debt of $1,479, it could cost you $148 or more in interest alone. It could be much higher if you end up paying a lot of BNPL fees, and it could take you until next Christmas to pay it off if you don't have a plan," she said.
"Don't go into it blindly – look at how much you can afford to spend and look for opportunities to cut back in other areas, to free up some budget for Christmas."
To avoid a debt spiral this Christmas, Finder advises consolidating debts accumulated on multiple credits.
Moving a debt to a 0 per cent balance transfer account could save people money on interest charges and streamline repayments to monthly.
Tracking spending is also key to keeping on top of personal finances and shopping around for better deals on insurance and energy providers could lead to quick savings.
Finder also suggests reviewing any subscriptions to streaming sites, as multiple subscriptions can put a dent in budgets.
The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.


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Mobile camera sensors seem to be getting bigger with every passing year, and Oppo’s upcoming Find X6 Pro smartphone looks set to continue the trend and then some.
According to Twitter leakster Ice Universe, the Oppo Find X6 Pro – which is expected to debut alongside two lower-key variants in early 2023 – will arrive packing a one-inch rear camera sensor akin to that used by the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
There’s been no further word on how said sensor might be arranged on the phone, but existing leaks have suggested that the Find X6 Pro will sport the same three-camera setup (primary, ultrawide and telephoto) as its predecessor, the Oppo Find X5 Pro.
The highest version of OPPO Find X6 uses 1" Sony IMX989. With its extremely high quality, it smashes all ISOCELL sensors. Only Samsung is playing the 200MP ultra-high pixel solution. High-end CIS is still the world of Sony.October 12, 2022
Put simply, this is great news for camera aficionados. The Find X5 Pro already ranks as one of the world’s best handsets for photography, so slapping an even bigger sensor on its successor could make the Find X6 Pro one of the best phones of 2023.
Our main (and really, only) gripe with the Find X5 Pro remains its poor zoom performance – it just doesn’t compare to the level offered by rival phones such as the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Huawei P50 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. However, rumors of a 50MP telephoto lens on its replacement could ensure the new phone isn't subject to the same criticism.
The standard Oppo Find X6, meanwhile, looks set to boast the same 50MP main and ultrawide cameras as its premium sibling, alongside a slightly smaller 32MP telephoto unit.
Though it’s easy to criticize mobile manufacturers for increasing the size and number of cameras on their handsets for the sake of, well, size and numbers, doing so is important for brands such as Oppo.
While consumers – in the US, UK and Australia, at least – may regularly opt for new Samsung or Apple smartphones owing to their familiarity or the convenience of their respective ecosystems, the Chinese phone brands must necessarily go big on cameras, displays and other distinguishing features to make their presence known.
And it's not as if the likes of Samsung are standing still in this regard, either; for instance, the Galaxy S23 has been tipped to come with a 200MP camera. For Oppo to drag people away from their existing phones, it will clearly need to give its products some bold design features in order to stand out.
A one-inch camera sensor would help the Find X6 Pro do just that – and we’re excited (read: hoping) to see Oppo officially lift the lid on its X6 series in the new year.
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Axel is a London-based Senior Staff Writer at TechRadar, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest movies as part of the site's daily news output. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
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CHINA’S WINE PRODUCERS CALLED ON BEIJING TO PROVIDE MORE SUPPORT
By Tony Zhu
Source: China State Council
Chairmen of China’s two leading wineries have called on Beijing to provide support in brand building and cut tax to help producers who have faced severe difficulties in the past year due to pandemic and competition from imported wines.
Currently attending the annual National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing, Chairman of Changyu Pioneer, Zhou Hongjiang, and Chairman of Timing Group, Jiang Ming, hoped that the central government can cut consumption tax and VAT for domestic wines, or allow the wine industry to enjoy the same tax scheme as agricultural industry.
China levies 10 percent consumption tax and 13 percent VAT on domestic wines, while profitable wineries also have to pay profit tax of up to 25 percent.
Zhou said these tax bills are higher than their peers in most wine producing countries which often also receive agricultural subsidies from their governments.
In many cases, Zhou said, the production costs of domestic wines are higher than the prices of imported wines, making Chinese domestic wines very uncompetitive.
Of the 12 listed wineries in China, only four managed to make a profit in 2020, the other eight all made losses.
He also said between January and September 2021, the whole domestic wine industry in China made profits of just about RMB 220million (USD34.8m).
Taking into consideration that Changyu Pioneer made a profit of about RMB450m during this period, it means all other companies made a gross loss of about RMB240m.
Timing Group’s Jiang said the quality of Chinese domestic wines have improved substantially in recent years, yet most consumers are still not aware, he called on the central government to help with brand building and education to change the situation.
He said wine tasting and rating have long been dominated by the West, consumers always assumed that foreign wines are better than domestic wines without really trying.
He believed China has to develop its own wine tasting and rating system, ideally with the help from central government, to allow domestic producers to explain themselves better and to change consumers’ habits.
(the writer can be contacted at: firstname.lastname@example.org)
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Lately, a South Korean magazine, Yonhap News Agency, announced a statement publishing that Samsung is starting new phones in August this year. The organization is currently in discussions with local network carriers compared to the start of its new smartphone models in the upcoming months, including the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy S21 FE, and Galaxy Z Flip 3.
If the statement is correct, the organization will be launching smartphones new than usual. The launch most possible pushed forward to fill the gap of the Galaxy Note series that regularly started in August. The organization has now established that it will not start the Galaxy Note series this year.
As far as its launch plan is involved, these differences are nothing unique. This year, Samsung started its Galaxy S21 lineup in January, about a month from its usual timeline to get on Apple as its new iPhone 12 series was in demand.
Although, the latest strategy is running moderately well for the smartphone producer. According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung was the world’s best smartphone vendor in the first quarter of 2021, with 77 million units, accounting for a 23% business share. It also newly beat Apple, becoming the largest smartphone producer in the world.


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Naini is a writer at Forbes India, who likes to dabble in storytelling across all forms of media. She writes on various topics ranging from innovation and startups to cryptocurrency and agricultureâanything and everything that makes for an interesting story. Before her stint at Forbes India, she worked for close to a year at Outlook Business. With five years of work experience, she co-produces Forbes Indiaâs video series âFrom The Fieldâ and hosts the podcast âTeenpreneursâ. She also emcees at events and moderates panel discussions from time-to-time. Naini is a part of Forbes Indiaâs digital team, also handles Forbes Indiaâs Instagram account and helps plan events. An avid learner, she has completed her PGDM in Journalism from Xavier Institute of Communication and Bachelorâs of Mass Media from Sophia College for Women in Mumbai. Be it at work or home, you will not find her working without her headphones and work playlist. She loves trekking and travelling, experimenting in the kitchen, watching films and reading.
Group picture of (L to R) Pooja Chhabria, Head of Editorial, LinkedIn APAC, Content & Growth, Ajay Datta, Head of Product, LinkedIn India, Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, Ruchee Anand, Senior Director, Talent & Learning Solutions, LinkedIn India and Daniel Shapero, Chief Operating Officer, LinkedIn at Bangalore office.
Image: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India
In 2009, when social media platform LinkedIn launched its first office in India, there were only four employees. Back then, Daniel Shapero—who was the then vice president, product, at LinkedIn—was one of the only global leaders to have visited India.
Thirteen years later, along with Ashutosh Gupta, India country manager of LinkedIn, Shapero was cutting a cake celebrating a massive milestone—100 million members in India. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn’s India growth story, particularly in the last couple of years, has been phenomenal.
Gupta, who joined the company in 2013, says India has 20 million members, and “it has been a 5x growth in the last 10 years. Last January, we were at 76 million members, and right now, it’s 100 million”. Apart from members and engagement, the company has grown in terms of revenue as well—84 percent from FY20. LinkedIn has not revealed exact revenue numbers. India is the fastest growing market for member engagement globally, and it is the second largest business market in Asia Pacific after Australia.
Shapero is not surprised by the pace at which the market is growing. “We see India as a market that is critical to where we are going. We’ve made some focussed investments here,” the chief operating officer at LinkedIn tells Forbes India, during his recent visit.
One of the main reasons for growth, reckons Shapero, is that “In the last three years, we are seeing LinkedIn become successful with members and companies across industries and in a range of locations in India. In our early days, it was a tool used mostly in metro cities by people working at multinationals.” The platform has seen a 30 percent year-on-year growth in new members.
The focus of the platform from a user point of view is to create respectful communities and improve accessibility. Keeping accessibility in mind, says Ajay Datta, head of product, LinkedIn India, “In December 2021, we launched LinkedIn in Hindi. The idea is to make the platform more approachable and improve user experience.” Currently, the platform is available in 26 languages globally, but moving to Hindi is a massive investment in the Indian market.
Though the Indian market is diverse, the plan is to double down on Hindi for now. “There are close to 600 million Hindi speakers globally and 57 percent of the Indian population speaks in Hindi. It is a sufficiently big market to capture and a huge task for our team,” adds Datta. Additionally, the research and development team of 1000 out of the Bengaluru office, is the second largest after its headquarters in California, United States. Also read: How LinkedIn became a place to overshare
How does LinkedIn Make Money?
Primarily, the platform has two major revenue streams: Talent solutions and marketing solutions, both of which are B2B offerings. The former provides innovative recruiting tools using data points from the community, helping companies acquire the right talent. Marketing solutions is where companies advertise on the platform—either via targeted InMail or sponsored posts on the feed.
For talent solutions, LinkedIn provides actionable insights to the customer, which helps them make decisions from a strategic point of view. Ruchee Anand, senior director—India talent and learning solutions at LinkedIn explains, “Our end-to-end solution helps the recruiter right from the stage of planning and understanding the talent pool available, understanding talent migration trends, where talent is available, and how to leverage the platform and reach out to the right kind of talent in a targeted manner.” Once hired, offerings such as skilling via LinkedIn Learning or Employee Engagement Survey via Glint help both employees and employers.
Globally, its marketing solutions have surpassed $5 billion dollars in annual revenue in Q4 FY22. “In the B2B digital advertising market, we are one of the Top 3 players, growing 3x faster than the category itself. Customers choose us for the reach and return on investment that they get,” explains Gupta.
The revenue model for large clients is mostly subscription-based, where they sign up for a host of solutions basis their requirements in the form of long-term multi-year contracts. Some of their clients include IT companies like Infosys, TCS and Wipro, and edtech startups like upGrad and Simplilearn, apart from other companies and MNCs. These solutions and offerings, make the platform a lot more than simply a ‘social media’ platform. “Most of these players have a full-funnel marketing approach—from raising awareness to converting them to users,” explains Gupta. “We do this via promoted InMail, explaining the offering and sponsored updates on the feed without killing the user experience. The key, however, is targeted marketing—you only want to reach to a precise audience, not everybody… that is something we excel at providing because of the data we have.”
Hitesh Rajwani, founder & CEO, Social Samosa Network explains that the massive engagement on content, high average time spent on the platform and lower count of fake profiles and bots have contributed to this interest on LinkedIn. “However, advertising on the platform in India is still picking up because of the perception that it’s slightly expensive than other platforms. But like I mentioned, the salience and precision the platform can drive is second to none.”
One of the biggest emerging revenue streams is LinkedIn’s deep sales platform, which includes LinkedIn Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Sales Insights. Via these products, the idea is to help sellers uncover and understand buyer intent by providing insights that can change the game for sales teams and create a culture of top performers.
Given the amount of data LinkedIn has access to, how are privacy concerns addressed? Datta states that the platform is completely General Data Protection Regulation compliant. Secondly, he explains, “We have a privacy by design approach, which means when a user is taking any action, we tell the member that this is what we are going to use your data for. That is how we ensure complete transparency.”
Additionally, in terms of content, LinkedIn is probably one of the only social media platforms, where there is close to no trolling. Shapero says, “I don’t think being a troll is good for your career. What you say is attached to your real identity, and people you are connected with might be in your career at some point… this results in more positive behaviour.” Also read: Cred, upGrad, Groww are the top three startups in India in 2022: LinkedIn
Push for Creators
The creator accelerator programme for LinkedIn was launched in May 2022. The platform has made an investment of $25 million globally for the creator programme. Since its launch in India, it has seen a slew of creators across various industries ranging from business to entertainment and sports, joining the platform. Mithali Raj, the former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team is also a creator on LinkedIn. She says, “LinkedIn is the perfect platform to share my experiences and opinions and connect with like-minded people, while allowing me to go beyond the sports community and reach out to a broader audience.”
Over time, LinkedIn members are looking for diverse content on the platform. Pooja Chhabria, head of editorial—APAC, LinkedIn says, “We have seen a 2x increase in knowledge-based content that people are sharing on the platform.” There are investments being made in products for the creator community, for ease of content creation. “Once you turn on creator mode, you have access to a bunch of features including, videos, newsletters, live mode, conducting audio events and a lot more,” adds Chhabria. There has been a 10x growth in newsletters being launched on the platform.
Along with these features, creators also get access to analytics and insights, to understand what works and what doesn’t. In order to help these professionals, there are in-house managers who help creators with what kind of content can be posted and how to make the most of the platform. “Additionally, we also conduct workshops for creators in order to educate them about features they could use and how they can engage better with their audience on LinkedIn,” she adds. Eventually, it leads to monetisation opportunities for creators as well.
But how does this stand out from creator programmes at other social media platforms? By ensuring that creator content is knowledge-based, authentic and often very inspiring. Engagement on every post is also significant. According to Rajwani, “The real and authentic content, life experiences from professionals is one of the major factors behind the growing engagement. There is a network effect in play. Content discovery motivates creators to share consistently, which in turns drives consumption and engagement from users on the platform.” So far, 14 million professionals globally have activated the creator mode, and India is one of the leading markets in this space as well. Also read: Will The Layoff Spree Continue In 2023?
Changing Hiring Trends
This year, skilling was yet again one of the focus areas for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget speech in February. Employers are now looking for skills more than educational qualification, and LinkedIn is investing and innovating to ensure companies find the right professionals.
In 2022, members in India spent over 4.6 million hours learning on the platform. Anand adds, “Globally, between 2015 and 2021, we’ve seen skills shifting by 25 percent, but for India it has been 29 percent and this is likely to be almost 48 percent, by 2027. Similarly, globally, we are seeing 40 percent recruiters using a skill-first hiring approach, whereas in India it is 50 percent.” Certain skills such as management, communication, sales, and tech skills like software development, SQL, Java and others have been most in-demand in India, according to the platform. Also read: Taking a break from a career has become an asset for your resume
“Earlier,” explains Shapero, “companies would search by job titles such as ‘software engineers’. But now, they can search by skills—everyone who knows ‘Java’ or ‘Python’. This is a behaviour change in the way recruiters hire, and thiss approach also allows the company to hire a more diverse talent pool.” Skill-based hiring is also helping people move jobs, within their own companies. “Career paths are no longer linear, more and more people are taking less traditional routes,” adds Shapero.
With the demand for upskilling, LinkedIn Learning has become a very popular product, with close to 40 million paid subscribers globally. “Content for the same is primarily English at the moment, but localisation efforts for India are in the pipeline as well,” adds Anand.
While LinkedIn is a great platform for people who are already professionals, Shapero is most excited about a segment that they hope to tap into: Students or people who aspire to become professionals. He reckons, “I think skill is the currency to help people breakthrough and open doors to many more opportunities.”
The company wants to continue in its vision of creating economic opportunities for members of the global workforce. Shapero says, “Earlier it was about creating a professional profile, making connections and finding jobs, then it became a platform to share content and discover professional news. Increasingly it’s become a place for people to share professional expertise, and turn into creators. While the product has evolved, the core objective remains consistent.”


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Niantic Inc, the inventors of walking, has announced a partnership with the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association to create a new real-world mobile game: NBA All-World.
After being responsible for the first exercise many gamers had with their smash hit Pokemon Go, Niantic is now looking to get them out of their shells and interacting with other sports fans. Using their geolocation services, players will be able to find, challenge and compete with well-known NBA stars in their neighbourhood, before recruiting them for their team. Hopefully without the Poke Balls this time.
The Head of Consumer Products at the NBA, Matt Holt, said “Through our partnership with Niantic, NBA All-World will provide fans across the globe the opportunity to fully immerse themselves into the energy and excitement of the NBA. Evident in the name of the game itself, we look forward to engaging with our fans around the world through this immersive experience”
Marcus Matthews, Senior Producer at Niantic, added “NBA All-World represents an industry first in sports games, as an original, real-world mobile game that will appeal to casual and core NBA fans alike. We’re creating and designing a game that empowers players to represent where they’re from and showcase their individual style.”
Josh Goodstatd, the EVP of Licensing for THINK450, the innovation engine of the NBPA, also commented, adding “NBA-All World gives us the opportunity to bring NBA players into Niantic’s real-world metaverse, opening up paths for fans to interact with them in a new way. Niantic has proven experience building games that encourage engagement in local communities, and having our players integrated into NBA All-World adds to that immersion.”
Whilst confirmed to be on mobile devices there has been no mention of a release date as yet. Those interested can sign up on the official website for up-to-date information and will be available to experience an exclusive NBA All-World AR web experience, along with being the first to be notified on how to secure their username for the global launch.


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“For years, fashion designers have been wishing, hoping, praying, lobbying for better copyright protection for their designs.
Well, on Wednesday, the industry got a leg up in its long quest, when the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prohibition Act, also known as the fashion design protection bill.
The bill, introduced by Senator Charles Schumer earlier this year, would help to protect the intellectual property rights of designers by creating an amendment to chapter 13 of the Copyright Act– an act that currently applies only to vessel hulls. . . ” Full story on WSJ.


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Dubai’s economy is coping well with a difficult global environment and is expected to grow about 4.5 per cent this year, with growth rising above that level in coming years, a senior official of the emirate said on Tuesday.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee and uncle of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was speaking at a financial conference.
He said the Dubai government was keen to control government spending and avoid budget deficits.
Sheikh Ahmed also said the government would seek to control inflation to keep the emirate competitive in business terms. Inflation has been boosted this year by surging housing rents; annual consumer price inflation was 4.2 per cent in November, down slightly from 4.4 per cent in October, which was the highest since May 2009.


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That was fast.
Good news for iPhone users worldwide: the BBC is reporting that Apple will release a patch for the much talked- (and worried-) about text message exploit demonstrated at the Black Hat 2009 conference Thursday in Las Vegas. [Editor's note: .]
The exploit allowed a hacker to gain control of an iPhone by sending it a series of text messages, leaving the owner with little recourse but to shut off the handset.
The BBC report cited a spokesperson at British wireless provider O2, who reported that a patch would be pushed out to users through Apple's iTunes, the application iPhone owners use to get new data on the device.
"We will be communicating to customers both through the website and proactively," the spokesperson said. "We always recommend our customers update their iPhone with the latest software and this is no different."
Though troubling news for the global iPhone userbase (a friend frantically IMed this writer: "Did you get the message to turn off your iPhone?" Thursday), the vulnerability apparently wasn't the straw that broke the back of Michael Arrington, the editor of the venerable TechCrunch. His early Friday morning post "I quit the iPhone" became a top trending Twitter topic (say that five times fast) in and of itself.


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Samsung has been releasing a range of devices for the past years. The South Korean tech giant has offered just about every screen size and configuration possible. Just when the market could not think of ways Samsung can diversity further, the Samsung Galaxy Hit arrives.
The Samsung Galaxy Note series has been a success globally. The three generations so far sold millions across the globe. Many analysts agree that the first of the series jumpstarted the era of phablets. These days, people can find a multitude of phablets catering to different types of users.
Despite the success of the Note, there are still consumers not satisfied with it. Some consumers feel that the Note series and similar products lack both worlds. They are too big to be used comfortably as a phone but they are too small to become a full laptop replacement.
To fill in the gap, Asus decided to put out the Asus Padfone. As the name implies, the device features a phone and a tablet. It is a combination of a tablet PC and a smartphone literally. While it may not have a similar success story as the Note, it appealed to a certain group of the market. If not, Samsung would not have considered a similar product to it.
The Padfone brings the best of both worlds. However, it may not be long before it finds a match in the market. The Samsung Galaxy Hit appears to sport the same design as the Asus' flagship. According to reports, a new patent sighting reveals Samsung's intent to go against the Asus Padfone.
If the patent sighting becomes a real-life offering, then the Samsung Galaxy Hit will be the company's initial attempt at conquering another segment of the market. Compared to hybrids, the Asus Padfone and the Samsung Galaxy Hit embody the true meaning of phablets. They have both components ready at the user's dispense.
According to the report sighting, the Samsung Galaxy Hit features a tablet PC docking station. Aside from that, Samsung has not released any more details. People will have to wait for the official announcement from the company. To see the patent reported, click here.
To contact the editor, e-mail:


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The US Government has walked away from a second battle to get Apple to unlock an iPhone, after the Justice Department was handed a passcode that unlocked the iPhone in order for them to gain access.
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Back in May, Google engaged in talks with Twitch to acquire the video game streaming site for over $1 billion. Over the past three months, however, those talks died down enough to where Amazon was able to swoop in and purchase the site themselves for an all-cash buyout of $970 million. For those unfamiliar with Twitch, the website offers video game streaming service in which gamers can stream their gameplay to a live audience while offering commentary, insight, jokes, etc.
With the native implementation of Twitch to the PlayStation 4, the service experienced a huge boost in traffic and new members as PS4 fans wanted to share their gaming videos with their friends and the world. As of January 2014, PS4 users made up 20% of Twitch’s channels alone, which is a stunning number considering how many pre-established channels had been created since the site’s launch back in 2011.
Twitch CEO Emmett Shear had this to say about the Amazon acquisition:
Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.
The future’s looking bright for Twitch, especially with last week’s news that Sony has sold more than 10 million PlayStation 4s since last November, the install base of Twitch users is only going to continue to grow. Side note: Twitch is also available on the Xbox One, but who really cares about that?


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New Delhi: FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) organised an interactive session with Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Govt. of India. Economic growth benefits greatly from investing in women and paying attention to their employment opportunities and empowerment. Since 1983, FLO, one of the oldest and busiest business chambers for women, has been promoting this cause.
Piyush Goyal shared his input on the need to ‘Invest in Her’. He also highlighted the initiatives of the government to boost women’s entrepreneurship and beyond.
“We want to build a global industry across all sectors. We aim to dominate the global market. India has long been a nation of powerful women in a variety of professions, including business, science, and technology. Piyush Goyal said, “We invite all the young and female business owners to step forward and make investments in order to support the development of the country.
“The Center is actively working with various nations to complete a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and talks with the United Kingdom (UK) are nearing their conclusion. This FTA will grant various business sectors duty-free access to the global market. because of the numerous policy decisions made by the government and the diligent efforts made by the industry nation to increase exports. He predicted that the nation’s economy would grow from its current level of $3 trillion to $30 trillion, and the government has been aggressively addressing all structural issues, such as trade restrictions, taxation problems, and issues with global competitiveness, Goyal said.


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Taiwan market: Vibo Telecom cooperates with Sega to launch mobile online game Sega Puyo Puyo
Kaddy Chung, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES
Vibo Telecom, at a September 9 press conference, announced its cooperation with Japan-based Sega and iScreen Corporation, a provider of handset-based value-added services in Taiwan, to immediately launch Sega Puyo Puyo, a mobile online puzzle game developed...
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Gonzalez-Bias Family Winery in Spain reports that sales of its flagship Tio Pepe brand have soared in the UK over the past 12 weeks, while sales of the annual release of Tio Pepe Original Sherry are increasing to meet demand.
Image from: Internet
Gonzalez-Bias Family Wines reported that Tio Pepe Sherry outperformed the entire sherry category in the 12 weeks to June 27, with sales up 33% year-on-year, and that all sherry sales across the portfolio achieved impressive growth in the same period.
Even with the closure of the important trade sector, the release of Tio Pepe Original Sherry in unfiltered form was considered a success, with the UK achieving its fastest sales and sherry also being redirected from other markets to meet demand.
The company notes that these sales are likely due to consumers switching to brands they already know and trust, while others are increasingly shopping at local independent stores and allowing themselves to try new products.
Martin Skelton, managing director of Gonzalez Bias Family Wines UK, says:Sherry is an unsung hero with amazing value. Our job now is to promote its many styles and diversity.
It was a great moment for sherry whether it was pale dry sherry, Manzanilla, Amontillado or the super luxurious Pedro Ximenez re-establishing itself as one of the world"s most elegant and stunning drinks.


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In the first blog in this two-part series, “The Technology Disruptions Set to Grow in 2019,” we talked about the disruptive force of technology types. In this blog, we cover the new types of competitors that are rapidly emerging to vie for a place in the healthcare delivery space.
Delivering the convenience and access patients want, retail clinics, outpatient urgent care centers and laboratory services based in shopping centers are opening across the country. In 2017, 7,693 urgent care centers in the U.S. accounted for nearly 90 million visits and as much as a third of the urban U.S population lives within a 10-minute drive of one of the thousands of retail clinics now available.[i],[ii]
Vertical integration—along with the entrance of tech giants like Amazon and Apple into the healthcare market—is also shaking up the competitive landscape. Amazon is venturing into the mail-order pharmaceutical market with its billion dollar investment in Pillpack.[iii] By September 2018, Apple had launched a beta program with at least 90 hospital, health system and clinic partners to pull patient records from EHRs into its iPhone.[iv]
With these moves, these trusted consumer brands could eventually become competitors on the care delivery side. Amazon is piloting a primary care site for some of its employees in Seattle.[v] CVS has moved quickly to provide virtual care with 24/7 access for urgent care needs—enabling it to compete with health systems for the patient volume and revenue that is driven by consumer demand. Its proposed merger with Aetna would also give it access to troves of claims data to increase its insights into consumers and their health needs.[vi]
How will providers absorb the new data streams from these competitors and continue to manage patients’ care? Improved access and financial transparency are good for consumers in the short term, but the cost of care could escalate if the new types of access are not coordinated and put into the right context—at the point of care. Ensuring that these new delivery locations don’t further fragment care will be essential to improving value.
Some health systems are fighting back by merging to take advantage of scale against competitors such as CVS and OptumCare, which has about 30,000 affiliated or employed physicians.[vii] For now, a new Fitch Ratings analysis found that their financial performance exceeded expectations.[viii]
To continue to succeed, health systems will have to continue to be more agile in the face of a reduced ability to steer patients to providers within their network and reduced visibility into their patients’ overall health. New patient leakage solutions can help health systems gain better insights into and control over their patient referrals. Philips has partnered with Fibroblast, a comprehensive referral management solution, to make that task easier.
And strategic partnerships with technology companies that facilitate data sharing across locations and types of data, and that enable health systems to confidently assess and take on risk to manage care outside hospital walls, are needed. Philips is leading this trend by delivering an open-source suite of digital solutions that include remote patient monitoring, automated care pathways, patient-reported outcomes tools, predictive analytics, medical alert systems, and patient medication adherence solutions. All of these can work singly or in combination to help you keep people healthier at home, reduce readmissions and take on more risk-oriented contracts.
Every provider is promising to drive down cost and improve quality and access. As the hype settles, solutions that reduce the friction for consumers when accessing care, that provide precise treatment with less direct clinical interaction, and that decrease the suffering and time associated with treatment will likely prevail. Forward-thinking healthcare organizations will embrace the continual disruption as a way to propel them to innovate to better serve their patients. Working with vendors that understand this and value a true partnership model, can help you get there.


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Philadelphia—Women customarily may wear wristwatches to a job interview—what better way to communicate punctuality?
But besides potential employers, do men notice when a women wears a wristwatch? If so, what signal(s) is she communicating to the opposite sex by wearing a watch?
Turns out, according to a survey by one watch company, men evidently think much more of a woman they see wearing a watch.
The Cadence Watch Company polled its customers asking them: “How does wearing a wristwatch make a woman more attractive?”
Nearly of third of the respondents said that women who wear watches were not only more punctual but also had more depth of character.
“A woman wearing a watch has places to be. She’s on a mission, and that’s sexy,” one of the male respondents added.
Beyond that, 26% of respondents found watch-wearing women to be more sophisticated (“She has class”).
“Our results indicate that women who wear watches are seen by men not only as having more substance, but also as being more confident, more important, and more refined,” said Menaka Sampath, Cadence’s market research director.
“We have also found that many of our male customers tend to think of watches as ‘masculine jewelry,’ and in this way, the wristwatch is a strong point of commonality in dress between men and women.”
For those single women who eschew wristwatches with the excuse “I can tell time with my cell phone,” might want to rethink that especially if they’re looking for a significant other.
Sampath noted, “In practice, wearing a wristwatch can make you look at once more powerful and more approachable–it shows you know how to “play ball” with the guys just as well as with the girls–and that you care as much about function as you do fashion.”
Time does indeed tell!
For commercial purposes, extract supplements can be obtained from the fruit of the pericarp. Garcinia cambogia reviews is performed by a physician Chen and Oz to prove that it is an herb for weight loss, a lot of research has been done. Studies, Garcinia cambogia extract supplementation decreases the weight of the body fat accumulation, was shown to have a positive effect on prevention. We are important substances such as cholesterol (LDL), reduces the serum leptin and triglycerides. In addition, it will increase the level of serotonin and cholesterol (HDL). The study also, Garcinia cambogia extract supplements, has proven that there are no significant adverse effects on many of the eight weeks, such as its use.


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Michael Kors is buying ALL the Jimmy Choo shoes
Which seems about right, they are incredible shoes after all. This power move makes Michael Kors basically the leader of the free fashion world - just think of all the swag with his name on it: handbags, apparel, sunglasses, fragrance, watches, jewellery, cosmetics, an open invitation back to TV's Project Runway, and now he owns all of Jimmy's shoes as well.
According to The New York Times, Michael Kors Holdings announced the $1.2 billion USD acquisition of Jimmy Choo on Tuesday with John D. Idol, chairman and chief executive of Michael Kors saying, "Acquiring Jimmy Choo is the beginning of a strategy that we have for building a luxury group that really is focused on international fashion brands."
Growing an already large luxury brand through acquiring smaller brands seems to be the growth strategy du jour with global powerhouse companies like LVMH and Estee Lauder Group getting more market share not through new product launches but by acquiring other niche brands. In line with this strategy, luxe accessories label Coach recently announced the purchase of New York brand, Kate Spade for $2.4 billion USD.
Jimmy Choo shoes are among the most coveted luxury footwear on the planet and are a firm red carpet celebrity favourite. The luxe shoe category is a new market for Michael Kors, which embodies a luxury aspirational lifestyle aesthetic but price their products at the reasonable end of the scale.
Jimmy Choo started back in the early '90s when shoemaker Jimmy Choo began producing bespoke shoes for an elite list of clientele including Princess Diana. But like any good fashion tale the path of Jimmy Choo to cult brand status was not without controversy. The luxe label was co-founded in 1996 by Tamara Mellon, a British Vogue accessories editor at the time and cobbler Jimmy Choo. Mellon left the company in 2011 after a number of very public and high profile spats with investors, wrote a tell-all book, In My Shoes: A Memoir about it soon after and a few years later sued Jimmy Choo Ltd alleging they caused her new namesake footwear brand to fail.
Buro 24/7 Selection


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Beston Global Foods spells out strategies to follow imminent public listing
Beston Global Foods Company (BGFC) has completed its initial public offering (IPO) capital raising and is expecting to list on the Australian Securities Exchange with an initial market capitalisation of over $127 million.
BGFC will commence trading on the ASX on Friday 28 August, 2015.
Recent headwinds rebuffed
The Chairman of BGFC, Dr Roger Sexton AM said the IPO had been completed successfully despite a number of significant headwinds, including the Greek financial crisis, the China stock market melt-down and increasingly negative sentiment about the performance of the Australian economy.
Dr Sexton said the BGFC offering had found strong appeal among Asian institutional investors as well as retail investors in Australia. Strong support was also shown in the Broker Firm component of the Offer resulting in a scale back of the shares available to investors under the Broker Firm Offer.
Core objective is about ‘healthy eating’
“The core objective of BGFC in taking healthy eating to the world’s growing communities has resonated strongly in Asia, with the result that around 50 per cent of the investors in the IPO are from offshore,” Dr Sexton said.
Dr Sexton also said that while BGFC had established marketing and distribution operations to supply products throughout Asia and the Middle East, there was no doubt that rising consumerism in China was leading demand for clean, green, food-safe products from Australia.
Forecasts and market concerns
The company has estimated that more than 320 million people will shift into the middle class in China between now and 2030. The rise of China’s middle class to an estimated 854 million people by 2030 will lift the consumption share of GDP from its current 36 per cent to around 50 per cent by 2030.
The effect of any recession in China and the devalued yuan in relation to premium imported food products is a question being asked by some market watchers. Australian Food News recently reported on some of these issues.
Closed loop supply chain
BGFC Chief Executive Officer, Sean Ebert, said the BGFC model was based on an integrated closed loop supply chain in which the company owns the raw materials, takes advantage of advanced knowledge and technology in the production process and controls the marketing and distribution of end products through company-owned subsidiaries in key global locations.
For example, BGFC earlier this year purchased the former United Dairy Power (UDP) dairy sites at Murray Bridge and Jervois in South Australia, which have now been rebranded as Beston Pure Foods and will be relaunching with its product range in early September.
“Our investment will increase the production capacities of the two plants and introduce new products for distribution into China and the ASEAN region by BGFC subsidiaries based in Thailand, Vietnam, China and Brunei,” Mr Ebert said.
“Ownership and operational control of the UDP facilities also will enable us to deliver key elements of our business plan at a lower cost than if we had to contract with outside providers.
“In line with this strategy we are currently in the process of relocating the Australian Provincial Cheese manufacturing plant from Victoria to the Murray Bridge site in order to expand its production to meet current export demand for customers in Japan, Korea and Malaysia.”
Mr Ebert said that in conjunction with other companies in its portfolio of food and beverage investments, BGFC had created a range of natural, clean and green products, which capitalise on the intrinsic benefits of Australia as a premium food producer.
He said new contracts had already been signed for products including a range of European cheeses and is currently in discussions with customers in both China and Asia on a range of dairy products, all of which are in high demand in Asia and which will be progressively introduced into production at Murray Bridge and Jervois over the next three years.


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Barnes & Noble has temporarily closed over 400 of their 627 U.S. stores in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As differing guidance is issued across the country, the bookselling giant confirmed that they are working with state and local officials to determine next steps to best protect customers and employees.
In a letter sent to Barnes & Noble’s 23,000+ employees on March 17, prior to closing the majority of their stores, CEO James Daunt warned that layoffs may be inevitable. “With the closure of stores, we are obliged to make the hardest of choices,” Daunt warned, adding that Barnes & Noble does not have the resources necessary to continue paying employees as other companies have promised, including Apple, Nike, Patagonia, and REI. “This is a devastating situation in which to find ourselves and we understand the personal impacts of such action.”
Daunt warned employees that as stores closed, employees with less than six months of employment would be laid off. Other employees would be first asked to use available paid time off, after which those employed at Barnes & Noble for at least one year could receive up to two additional weeks of pay. “When a closed store is permitted to reopen, we will do so, and we intend to rehire.”
In a public statement, Barnes & Noble encouraged customers to utilize online ordering options, while also sharing that stores remaining open are prioritizing customer and employee safety by implementing enhanced cleaning and hygiene protocols. Many stores, including those that have closed to the public, continue to offer curbside pick-up of orders.
Layoffs Beginning at Closed Stores
As over 400 stores temporarily close across the country, layoffs have already begun. Employees who have worked at Barnes & Noble for less than six months were furloughed at the time their store locations closed, regardless of title. Employees with a longer tenure are utilizing paid time off.
Aidan* began working at a New Jersey Barnes & Noble location last October, five months before a statewide “stay at home” order forced the store to close. “I got a call from one of my managers saying that I and every other employee that had been hired less than six months ago would be laid off, and that when they knew that they were going to reopen, they would call me and I would be rehired,” Aidan shared in an interview with Book Riot.
But even before layoffs began, Aidan already suffered from reduced shifts. On March 15, “I came in and saw that our store hours were being shaved down. One of my managers talked to all the booksellers individually about how she was trying to keep people’s shifts, but that hours would be cut.”
Now, Aidan is among the over 150,000 New Jersey residents filing for unemployment, an increase of 2,000% over the same week last year. And although Congress’s recent stimulus package allocates money to support state unemployment funds, it’s unclear how long it will take for that money to reach out-of-work New Jerseyites’ pockets.
Adherence to Safety Standards Varies by Store
When it comes to COVID-19 protocols in open stores, Barnes & Noble employees report mixed messages from headquarters, regional leadership, and individual store management. Courtney*, a Barnes & Noble employee based in Missouri, told Book Riot that doors remain open, and safety precautions aren’t being regularly taken by customers or managers of her store. “[Corporate has] left a lot up to individual stores to implement. And that’s fine when it comes to what books are selling in your region, but the gray area during a pandemic is not.”
While individual stores have received guidance from headquarters on cleaning protocols and social distancing recommendations for customers, enforcement is up to individual store management. At Courtney’s store, adherence to recommendations is minimal. “Corporate mandates we clean the doors, so we do. But there’s nothing about cleaning registers or countertops or keyboards and touch screens, so it just isn’t done unless one of us decides, ‘Hey, that should be done.’”
Enforcement of social distancing for customers is even more lax. Courtney reports that, although chairs have been removed from reading areas and the cafe at her store has been closed, customers continue to visit the store and linger in public areas. “There are very few customers who actually are taking precautions. Others don’t seem to care or understand that there’s a virus that we could catch. They stand as close to us as possible, even as we take great care to put distance between us, and cough into the air. With such light foot traffic anyway, I don’t see the point in being open to people to walk around who could potentially put booksellers at risk.”
At storefronts that remain open, some employees have chosen not to come to work out of fear and are using available paid time off. Others, even some that are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, continue coming to work out of fear of unemployment. Courtney shared that she and many colleagues would feel more comfortable continuing to work if stores moved to pick-up only and stop accepting cash payments. “I want us to be able to continue doing business, but not at the expense of all of us here.”
Are Bookstores Essential?
As many cities and states receive directives to shelter in place, constituents are left uncertain about what businesses are deemed essential or non-essential. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued guidance on what industries and workers are considered essential, highlighting industries like health care, food and agriculture, public works, and more. However, the broad guidance deferred to state and local governments for further delineation of essential businesses in their individual directives.
This leaves many booksellers confused as to whether their stores can remain open. While some directives explicitly name bookstores as non-essential businesses, others are ambiguous when it comes to selling books. Courtney’s store in Missouri is in an area under a 30 day shelter-in-place order. Managers have thus far claimed Barnes & Noble is an essential business, allowing them to remain open with reduced hours until instructed otherwise by local officials.
“When [CEO Daunt] gives interviews about how essential books are, he leaves out anything about booksellers being essential,” Courtney said. “I love books too, but they aren’t essential during a pandemic, and none of the booksellers are less important than a book.”
At Aidan’s store in New Jersey, the state “stay at home” order allowed for less ambiguity. The list of essential businesses includes specific industries and services, and booksellers are not a part of the list. “One of my friends works at a Barnes & Noble in Virginia and his store hasn’t closed yet, so I think it’s safe to assume that they wouldn’t have closed if they weren’t told to,” said Aidan of their store’s closure.
Many Barnes & Noble locations that have closed due to local ordinances continue to offer curbside pick up for online orders. These orders allow a small number of employees to continue working while maintaining a safe distance from customers and ensuring time for stores to disinfect surfaces.
Turbulent Times for Barnes & Noble
The closure of over half of Barnes & Noble’s stores comes only seven months after the company was acquired by Elliott Management**, the hedge fund owner of U.K.-based bookstore chain Waterstones. Daunt was appointed as Barnes & Noble CEO at that time, and has since focused on making stores smaller and more intimate to offer a similar atmosphere to independent bookstores.
As Amazon’s customer base has expanded, traditional bookstores like Barnes & Noble have seen a downturn in market shares. Bookselling chain Borders closed all locations in 2011, and Waterstones experienced a similar downturn at the same time, prompting them to bring Daunt on board. His efforts to create a more intimate customer experience turned the company around to make a profit within four years.
Daunt’s March 17 letter assured employees that Barnes & Noble was financially strong prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While sales were down somewhat at the time of writing, the company had “well within what we need to remain profitable.” In fact, Dial shared that online sales and children’s book sales were actually above average.
Along with cost reductions at the company’s headquarters, Daunt hopes layoffs and reduced store hours can keep the company afloat through massive store closures. “We intend to rehire. We hope that as few as possible will be mandated to close and that any closures are temporary. I am confident that we can carry the company through this catastrophe by taking such resolute actions. It is extraordinarily painful and, once again, I express my sincere appreciation for the dedication [employees] are demonstrating.”
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of those interviewed.
**Editor’s Note: It was Elliott Management, the hedge fund owner of Waterstones, that acquired Barnes & Noble, not Waterstones itself as was previously stated incorrectly.
Also In This Story Stream
- Book Clubbing During A Pandemic: The Online/Offline Experience
- Support And Hope In The Philadelphia Book Scene
- Why Are Chicago Public Libraries Still Open Amid Soaring COVID Rates?
- How to Make a Children’s Book Museum COVID-Compliant
- How the Pandemic Has Changed Our Reading Lives
- Libraries Reopen in COVID-19 Hot Spots: Are Library Staff Being Protected?
- Quaranzines are Popular and Libraries are Noticing
- A New Role for Little Free Libraries
- As Bookstores Reopen, Stores Seek Safe Practices
- Librarians in Phoenix Become Healthcare Workers


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“The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say, ‘Look, this thing can’t land on somebody’s head while they’re walking around their neighborhood’.”
— Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com CEO, on the mega-retailer’s delivery-drone plan. Bezos unveiled the project Sunday on “60 Minutes,” stressing that delivering packages using octocopters labeled Amazon PrimeAir is “years away” and will, of course, be subject to FAA rules. (The FAA has proposed the opening up of U.S. airspace to civilian drones in 2015, but who knows when it will actually happen?) Still, Bezos said, the project “is not science fiction. … It will work.”
As we’ve written, potential uses for commercial drones include scientific study, helping farmers track their crops, or news-gathering. The Amazon drones could be seen similarly and as simply useful.
But reactions to Bezos’ announcement were more complicated. They ranged from amazement (that Bezos, he does think big: newspaper, space company, a giant clock) to concern to ridicule. Some notable thoughts from the Twitterati and more: What about security and liability (Bezos is thinking about it, see main quote); this would make same-day delivery on the ground by Google, eBay and others seem quaint; what about cost and energy-efficiency and the ability to scale; what about the UPS drivers and pizza boys; and … is it April Fools’ Day?
Photo: Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos revealed Sunday that his company is planning to someday use drones to deliver small packages. (AFP/Getty Images)


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The local media streaming app Plex has updated its Windows 10 app so it now works on Windows 10 Mobile smartphones. It has also added support for Continuum to the app.
Plex began closed beta testing of the Windows 10 Mobile version of the app about a month ago, and now it's ready for prime time. In a blog post, the company stated:
Thanks to bbraune and Matt for the tips!
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455 total views
Atlas Protocol (ATP) is a blockchain application layer protocol of interactive advertising & marketing. It officially announced to join the IAB Technology Lab and its Blockchain Working Group to promote the development of blockchain advertising technology standards.
Atlas Protocol (ATP) officially announced to join the Interactive Advertising Bureau Technology Lab (IAB Tech Lab) and its Blockchain Working Group. It will work with Google, Amazon, and others on blockchain interactive advertising technology standards.


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Last year, Samsung promised to release four major Android OS updates for its high-end and some mid-range smartphones. However, the update was promised only for the Galaxy S21 and newer phones. The Galaxy S20 series is still expected to get only three major Android OS updates, meaning Android 13 was its last major software update. However, there is some good news for Galaxy S20 users.
Samsung has started internally testing the One UI 5.1 update for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra. Information on Samsung servers suggests that the firmware version in the next software update being tested is G980FXXUFHWA1, Since the tenth letter in the firmware version is H, it indicates that the software is a major one. The Galaxy S20 series devices running Android 13-based One UI 5.0 have the letter G in the tenth position of their firmware version (G980FXXUFGWA5,
Hence, it is good news for Galaxy S20 series users as Samsung is most likely to bring the One UI 5.1 update to their devices. A new version of One UI brings several new software features, and the South Korean firm indicated that it had reserved some additional lockscreen and other UI customization features for One UI 5.1.
The Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra will get two more years of security patches, which is far better than other Android OEMs.
SamsungGalaxy S20 5G
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There’s green and then there’s green ($$$). Wellesley Bank, trumpeting prospects for growth upon its expansion into Boston and mobile banking, has unveiled a new logo.
It’s a serious logo about serious money, featuring dark green letters encased in a double-gold box. “The new logo conveys strength and stability along with being timeless, which is what our clients seek from Wellesley Bank,” says CEO Thomas Fontaine.
What it doesn’t have any more is a tree, as it did in the outgoing logo shown below that fit with the bank’s “Grow With Us” motto. A bold move in a town where businesses from dry cleaners to grocery stores vie to out-green each other daily. Let’s hope Wellesley’s sustainability team doesn’t get wind of this.
All is not lost, though, on the green banking front in our record-breaking Tree City USA community. First Commons Bank still has a tree in its logo.


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- Dec 11, 2018
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday that the hardware supply chain is coming back online as the coronavirus outbreak eases up in Asia, but said that the big question would be whether demand holds up in the U.S. and Europe.
"On the supply side we are getting back on rails," Nadella told CNBC's Jon Fortt when asked about whether Microsoft would be able to deliver later this year certain products it had promised before COVID-19 took hold, like new Surface devices and a revamped Xbox gaming console.
"We have a great balance sheet, we are a very diverse business, we have a mix of annuity, non-annuity, that is also stronger than even the last time we even went into the financial crisis," he said. "I feel confident we'll come out of this, frankly, pretty strong."
He said the company's cloud infrastructure and services have been holding up under increased demand.
"If this was a previous generation of data center architectures or software architectures, I don't think we would have been able to deal with this crisis as effectively as we have been able to," Nadella said.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the bigger concern is demand in developed markets, and he said he would favor economic stimulus from the U.S. government.


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OnePlus 8 series is expected somewhere around next month. And so far, we have seen several CAD renders and concept images of the phones. Well, a fresh image shows one of the phones, precisely OnePlus 8 Pro out in the world. The snaps shared by 247Techie present a grey-colored OnePlus phone, apparently OnePlus 8 Pro. […]
The post OnePlus 8 Pro with Quad Cameras and Punch-hole Display Appears Online appeared first on Smartprix Bytes.
Source: Tech News


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‘Putting money back in people’s pockets!’ Octopus Energy doubles pa…
Octopus Energy is doubling its payments to households that export energy back to the grid using renewable energy sources. The firm said the move was to help lower people’s energy bills this winter. Customers on Octopus Energy’s tariff “Fixed Outgoing” will see an increase in payments from 7.5p/kWh to 15p/kWh. Coming into effect today, Octopus Energy’s existing solar panel customers will automatically get moved onto the new rates.
The supplier also stated that the tariff is also available to customers who use other means to export renewable energy.
These include customers with solar batteries who store energy and customers with small wind turbines.
With the new change, Octopus Energy is paying self-generating customers three times more per kWh exported than any other UK energy supplier.
The energy supplier stated that the next best tariff on the market currently offers 5p/kWh to those who export energy back to the grid.
READ MORE: When will pensioners receive £300 boost to help pay energy bills?
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy Group, said: “We’re always looking at ways to put money back in people’s pockets. By doubling the payments to customers helping to grow the UK’s renewables footprint, we are doing just that.
“It has become abundantly clear that we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and become energy independent as a nation.
“While export tariffs are incredibly cost-intensive for energy suppliers, we still choose to give these best-in-market rates to turbocharge the rollout of renewables, accelerating the shift to a cheaper, cleaner energy future.”
Octopus Energy last increased its export rate in February of this year, where it increased 36 percent from 3p to 4.1p.
The energy firm stated customers on Octopus’ unique smart export tariff called “Agile Outgoing” were benefiting from much higher rates due to the tariff’s “dynamic pricing”.
This is because this tariff follows wholesale prices and the rates on this tariff change every 30 minutes, or 48 times every day.
According to Octopus, customers on this tariff, on average, were paid 34p/kWh over the last twelve months.
Earlier this year customers in London were even paid up to £1.29 for every kWh they send back to the grid.
READ MORE: ‘At the end of our tether’ Mum fights with DWP over PIP claims
Octopus Energy Group was the first company in the UK to launch a solar export tariff back in 2019, after the Government-supported Feed-in-Tariff ended.
Today’s announcement comes as Octopus rolls out their £40million support package for customers, including standing charge reductions to all households on its Flexible Octopus tariff.
All customers on this tariff will automatically get a four percent discount on their energy bills compared to the Ofgem price cap.
A standing charge is a daily amount that a person must pay, despite the amount of energy they use, to be connected to the grid.
In addition, up to 100,000 Octopus customers will be able to apply for “standing charge holidays” of up to six months with this package.
The company has also absorbed £150million worth of energy bills increases on behalf of its customers so their bills wouldn’t rise as high as the Ofgem price cap.
The supplier has also recently doubled its Octo Assist financial hardship fund in size to £15million to help its customers that are struggling or worried about paying for energy this winter.
Support includes access to existing schemes, monetary support from the fund, and payment holidays.
According to the firm, the Octoassist fund has already helped over 55,000 people.
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For many years Ford has fielded racing cars in multiple racing series worldwide. Most of those cars are based on its high-performance muscle car called the Mustang. Ford Performance has now confirmed the automaker is developing a Mustang GT3 racing car that will compete in global motorsports events. The racing car will be ready to race at Daytona in 2024.
The Mustang GT3 IMSA race car marks the automaker’s return to factory-backed GT3 racing. However, the car will also be available to customers starting at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2024. Ford Performance is working with Multimatic to build the car.
While the vehicle is only being teased now, Ford Performance did confirm that the vehicle is powered by a 5.0-liter Coyote-based V-8 engine. The Ford racing team will be a two-car factory-backed IMSA GTD Pro Works team that will be managed by Multimatic. At this time, there are no hard details on the car or how much it might cost.
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Navigation firm TomTom has launched new content for its sat-nav devices in conjunction with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) that will alert drivers when they are entering or exiting one of the new Speed Enforcement Zones in Ireland.
The news comes as the company launches its new GO LIVE 1000 sat-nav devices that come with local Google search along with weather updates, HD traffic and mobile speed camera detection technology.
According to the RSA, excessive or inappropriate speed is a key factor in one-third of road deaths each year.
Last year, 80 people died and up to 1,000 others were seriously injured on Irish roads due to speeding. Reducing speed by just 5pc could save up to 50 lives per year in Ireland.
Icons within zones
Demonstrating the new GO LIVE 1000, TomTom country manager David Crotty told Siliconrepublic that as soon as a driver approaches a Speed Enforcement Zone, an icon will appear on his or her TomTom screen and a sound will also alert them.
The icon will remain visible while they are driving in the zone. The icon will disappear as soon as the driver exits the zone.
An Garda Siochana has identified more than 700 locations with a history of speed-related collisions and TomTom has identified a way of raising awareness in these zones.
The ‘Speed Enforcement Zones’ app will be pre-installed on new product ranges and will automatically be available as soon as the devices are switched on.
Owners of XL iQRoutes2 devices will be offered the Speed Enforcement Zone file via a free download from TomTom HOME. Zones will be updated if and when they change at a later date.
TomTom says that for older devices, such as the XL and ONE, a free Speed Enforcement Zone Point of Interest file is available on TomTom’s website.
”TomTom is the first to offer a navigation experience of this kind in Ireland. It’s not just about getting from A to B any more,” Crotty said.
“With the GO LIVE 1000 and LIVE services, we can provide Irish drivers with the best routing information available and help them to make decisions that save time and money; putting the driver back in control. We don’t want our customers to spend time in traffic if they don’t have to,” he added.
The fully connected GO LIVE 1000 range has been built for people who love driving, but who hate traffic. With free HD Traffic for a year, the GO LIVE 1000 is TomTom’s first device range to feature the capacitive fluid touchscreen, which lets drivers pinch to zoom in and out of maps, or scroll through menus with the tips of their fingers.
The screen responds intelligently and sensitively to even the lightest touch, making interaction more responsive than in any of its predecessors.
Simple docking for device
For a quick start to the journey, TomTom has created the new Easy Click magnetic mount. Docking and undocking is now easier than ever – even with just one hand. In fact, simply holding the device against the mount glides the TomTom GO LIVE simply into place.
And there’s more: a powerful, super-fast computer processor allows speedier route calculation, while maps with IQ Routes use real speed data collected from millions of users to calculate accurate travel and arrival times.
Plus every device comes with new, richer maps covering 2 million kilometres, more roads across 45 European countries and more graphical details. These include even richer Points of Interest data – including business phone numbers and opening times – putting even more local information at the drivers’ fingertips.
The GO LIVE 1000 is available to buy now and costs €279. TomTom LIVE Services is now available in 33 countries. Free for 12 months, €49.95 for second year of subscription.


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Last night at Green Table in New York City’s Chelsea Market, the Original Muck Boot Company celebrated the launch of the Muck B 1802, its first ever fashion collaboration with Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, also known as the Fabulous Beekman Boys. “Brent and Josh have built a brand considered by Epicurious to be ‘the next Martha Stewart’ and one that exemplifies the growing trend that is modern farming,” says Sean O’Brien, global director of footwear. “This growing movement requires durable, comfortable farm footwear, and with this collaboration the Beekman Boys have helped us deliver a practical product with a fashionable twist.”
Having worn Muck Boots on their goat farm in upstate New York for years, the duo jumped at the chance to put their stamp on a style. Opting for a slimmed down silhouette that offers style with substance, the 100 percent waterproof boot features Muck’s XpressCool liner and a lightweight EVA outsole with rubber pods for optimal traction and support with comfort and flexibility. Offered in black with red trim and black with gray, only 200 pairs will be sold on the Beekman 1802 mercantile and on Muck Boot’s website.
The partnership doesn’t end there: Muck is also donating its bestselling Chore boot to the entire farm staff of Beekman 1802’s first annual Mortgage Lift award winner, a $10,000 grant bestowed on a family farm that demonstrates innovative business practices, helping restore small farms as the economic backbone of America.


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(Adds details of memo)
By Caroline Humer
NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc will cut its sales force for Addyi, a treatment aimed at female sexual dysfunction, as well as some employees who sell dermatology products, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo said that the company’s contract with an outside sales force ends on April 15 and will not be renewed. Addyi, which Valeant acquired as part of its $1 billion acquisition of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, has had slow sales since it was launched last fall.
The memo from Chief Executive Officer Michael Pearson to company employees said that Valeant plans to relaunch the product “later this year” with a new marketing and sales plan and an internal sales force. Addyi will remain on the market in the interim.
Pearson also wrote in the memo that in dermatology, Valeant received feedback from doctors that “it had too many people calling on them to discuss closely related products.” It planned cuts in that internal sales force as a result.
Those cuts affect about 140 current Valeant employees and would leave about 250 sales representatives for the dermatology business, according to a source familiar with the situation. The Addyi cuts affect about 140 contractors, said the source, who was not authorized to speak about the move.
Valeant dermatology sales have suffered since the company cut ties with Philidor Rx Services, a mail-order pharmacy. It missed its fourth-quarter earnings targets, has said it will restate financials for 2014 and 2015 and delayed filing its annual report, putting it in danger of defaulting on $30 billion in debt.
Bloomberg first reported the cuts earlier on Monday.
Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis